Serena Williams may be one of the most iconic tennis players ever to hit the courts, but even she is not safe from many problems that ordinary people face. Williams, a crowd favorite in the ongoing U.S. Open tournaments, has now become more open about the struggles she has as a mother and as a wife. She has especially been vocal about the struggles she experienced when she was pregnant with her daughter Alexis Olympia in 2017.
Williams’ difficult pregnancy
Williams previously revealed that she had life-threatening complications after she gave birth to Alexis Olympia, who was born through caesarian section. While the actual pregnancy and labor went well, she experienced an embolism, which is characterized by an obstruction on an artery. This resulted in intense coughing for her, which then opened up her C-section wound.
She was rushed back into the emergency room, where the doctors found a huge hematoma in her abdomen. She then had to be in a procedure that helped make sure that the blood clot does not reach her lungs, which would have been fatal.
Williams was thankful that she received topnotch medical attention but she realized that not everyone has the privilege that she has. She cited data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, saying that black women are more likely to die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. Because of this, she called on more people to donate to charities and foundations that help support mothers, newborns and medical staff.
Additional details about her pregnancy were also revealed in the HBO documentary series “Being Serena.” The show divulged that Williams was hesitant about doing a C-section because she has a history of blood clots. Williams’ husband, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, is also shown in the series jumping into action right away when he realized that his wife was about to give birth.
Even after her surgery, Williams still needed to be on bed rest six weeks after she gave birth. It was said that she developed other clots all over her body, which required another surgery to block blood clots from traveling to her heart.
On motherhood
Now that her daughter is already two years old, Williams has confessed that it is hard being a working mother. She said it could be tough considering that sometimes she has to be away from her family. Williams even had to change around her daily schedule to spend more time with her daughter. She also said that Alexis Olympia used to get upset whenever she leaves but now that she is a bit older, she already behaves better.
